Another
by Wanted Pandafox
Summary: When the Guardians are recruited by a mysterious individual to retrieve a valuable item from an abandoned facility, things become difficult for Rocket when they arrive, and his relationship with his family become strained as a dark past comes back to life to haunt him. When he is forced to return to Halfworld though, things get even worse for the damaged experiment's..
1. Chapter 1: The Facility

**So, because in relation to my main stories I've hit a bad writers block that, I think might be due to the fact I've been spending ALOT of spare time trying to write out the next chapter for them only for it to never turn out to be something I'm happy with, so basically, I thought 'screw it, I'll just make a one shot' Hopefully writing something other than the same chapter multiple times might set me on track for actual updates. **

**This story will probably be about 2-3 chapters long, and takes place after GOTG 2, around Teenage Groot time, but it doesn't really involve Mantis - sorry anybody who likes Mantis, but she's not in this for one main reason. I just don't like her that much and I have no clue how to write her character. It's been a while since I've seen GOTG but I think (hope) I got the personalities somewhat true to the characters. This one mainly focuses on Rocket (my FAVOURITE Marvel character, full stop.) and an OC. If you ever want more Marvel one-shots, let me know what you'd wanna see and I'll TRY to do them as best I can, I'm not as big a Marvel person as others so some character's might be tougher for me to write. I'll still try, anyway, enjoy.**

~Rocket's POV~

"I am Groot."

"What?"

"I am, Groot?"

"I don't know, quit asking me while ya?"

"I am Groot."

"Go ask Quill or Gamora, they're the one's flying the ship."

"I am Groot."

"I don't know how long until we land, I'm not the Captain." I was trying to make a new modification to my weapon, emphasise on TRYING, Groot here wouldn't stop asking about when we're going to land next. "God damnit." I growled, having misconnected the battery due to not paying close enough attention. It was then we heard Quill speak up, lowering the music that had been blairing throughout the ship.

"We'll be landing in about ten mintues." Was all he said, before turning the music back up. I swear, sometimes I wasn't so thankful for my better hearing, because it meant I could hear Quill's terrible singing. Drax was ignoring it, sharpening his knife yet again - I swear him and sharpening knives is the same as me and bombs and guns. I chuckled softly, then returned to making my modifications.

Before I knew it, we had landed, and, like always, I strapped a gun to my back, hoping to everything Infinity there would be a bar somewhere around here. I didn't pay much attention to the conversation we had earlier, before we came here, but apparently there's some dude who has a job for us and his offering a nice sum of Unit's for it. We're here to get the full details, or, Quill and Gamora are. Groot, Drax and I went out looking for a way to spend our time.

Trust me when I say, it didn't take long for us to find a bar and me to get drunk as shit, though this time, Drax, Groot and I didn't nearly kill each other. Haha, now I think back, that was actually a fun night, despite my... Outburst. I shivered slightly, growling softly at myself. I don't know how long exactly we at the bar, but when we came out it was atleast two or three hours past sunset. Drax practically had to carry me half way back because I got too lazy to walk, not that he seemed to mind.

"So, Quill, what is the job?"

"I am Groot?"

"Yeah, that's more important, how much are we being paid?" That wasn't actually what Groot said but it was the thing on my mind, besides, they still can't really understand him properly like me. Well, Star-Lord can, Gamora's and the others are still trying, but hey, none were even listening to him so they won't know.

"His offering Three billion Units." Ohhh nooo, this better not be another Ronan and Infinity Stone situation.

"We better not be after another one of those stupid Infinity stones or whatever."

"I agree, last time was a perilious journey."

"We're not, he wants us to investigate an old facility at these co-ordinates, apparently he believes something of worth was left behind when it was VERY recently and very quickly abandoned." My right ear perked up in curiousity and slight anxiety when Gamora mentioned 'facility'

"What kinda facility?"

"Some sort of lab facility." I hissed softly. There was no way I was ever going into any place like a lab ever again, abandoned or not.

"I am Groot." Hmm, maybe.. Maybe he could be right, it could be a start to putting that past behind me and starting to get over it somewhat.

"For the record, I'm very opposed to this idea but what the heck. Three billion Units ain't something to pass up." Drax just nodded, agreeing to the mission before walking over and taking a seat, while I stumbled into my room and faceplanted my small bed.

~...~

It had been a long, an overly boring job so far. This place was literally abandoned. Down to the last clipboard. Honestly, it didn't even look like it's ever been used. Like it got constructed then just left. Bet this is just a waste of stupid time.

"Is he sure there's even anything left on this dump." Quill groans, sharing my sentiment. We had been searching this station top to bottom for two full, I guess what could be classed as days out here, and the most we've found was our own footprints telling us we'd gone in a circle the first time. "Starting to think he was just taking the piss."

"I am Groot."

"Yeah."

"I agree with Quill, we are wasting time searching for this item." Drax commented. Yet for some reason, Gamora wasn't as certain about this whole trip being a waste of time. Obviously something happened here that made their 'on-the-side' employer offer them three billion Units for whatever they found. Probably just some nut-job weirdo sending us aft...

"What was that?" We all stared down the hallway from where the sound had came from, seeing a large door at the end, one that looked just like the doors back in the labs where they experimented on me. I gulped, and hesitantly followed the others as they made their way over. Groot was basically shadowing me now, he must've know how I was feeling, I mean, my gun was shaking as we got closer, seeing empty cages just like the ones I was left in. I kinda wished I had Adult Groot back right now though, he knew just how bad it was for me. They only have an idea...

"Oh no." I whimpered, my eyes darting around to see so many cages, stacked ontop of each other, then some big enough to house people like Quill, or even Drax. "No." I shrunk instinctively, and it felt almost like I could hear the screams, the crying, like I was back at the labs. "No...No...No." I swear, PTSD was starting to kick in, but I powered through it, though it seems I wasn't the only one this place made uncomfortable, heck even Drax looked a little unsure of this place.

"What manner of people would require so many confinments?"

"The worst kind." I snarled - it wasn't just the fear coming back to me, there was anger too. "The kind that turned me into the Monster I am." I steeled my grip on my weapon, hearing another sound come from the other side of the door; now we were closer though, it sounded more like a scream.

Then another scream broke us from our thoughts, then another, then another, then crying, then another, louder scream. "What are you waiting for?!" I snarled loudly, gesturing frantically at the door. Normally I couldn't give two shits about anyone else but Groot, but I knew what that - judging by the screaming - female was going through, and I couldn't in my right mind knowingly leave her subjected to that torture.

Drax quickly kicked the door down, Star-Lord taking point and entering first. It was a circular room with multiple doors, but the screaming sounded like it was coming from all of them. "Poor girl." Gamora whispered under her breath. Star-Lord quickly kicked his leader half into action.

"Everyone, take a door each, we might not have time to check each room one by one." He then started pointing at doors while listing us off. I ended up on the door directly opposite where we came in from. It took me a little longer to bust in this door, but when I did wanted to turn and run.

The lab room... It was almost the same, but.. Even bigger, even more intimidating. I ignored the settling horror and forced my way through it, frantically searching the room before another loud, painful scream caught my attention. Just behind that second door, definitely; I didn't hesitate to blast a hole in the window, climbing through, I found a elevated bed, with wires coming down leading to some sort of device, then I recognized it.

It was something I had seen back in the other lab. A device used to torture prisoner's that fight back. You were strapped to the table, wearing a special suit that amplified the electrical charge when it made contact with you, and it was SO painful, even on the lower setting. This thing was turned up to the 'Median' setting and could definitely kill if left active for a long period of time. I shot the thing without hesitation after noticing they had actually broke the swtich to deactivate it.

Instantly her screaming went quite, and I climbed up on the table to see what she was. "Holy shit." I whispered. She.. She was another one of me. Another experiment.. Another 'Raccoon' or whatever Quill said I am. Her fur was a lighter shade than mine, but she was so dirty and messy. Like she hadn't had chance to clean for days, perhaps weeks, not that it'd surprise me.

She was wareing that special outfit for this torture device, and it outlined how skinny she actually was. "How are you not dead?" She should've been. I mean, that thing must've been on for atleast a day or t.. We didn't... Accidentally turn that on did we when we reset the power? Actually, I hope we did, because it'd be better than if it was on before we arrived, and if we didn't, we would've left and she'd be dead before long.

"Rocket! Found it?"

"In here!" I began unhooking the restraints, noticing the girl was knocked out cold. I don't know what the plan is for her, or if she's the thing we were sent to collect. Her fur around the restraints looked burnt, and her breathing was very shallow, face contorted into one of pain. "C'mon, let's get you out of here." I hooked my arms under her, finding her much lighter than I expected her to be, before following the others out back to the ship.

"So, I guess that's what he wanted for three billion." Quill commented, casting a glance at her. "Don't see why he'd offer so much."

"The creature seems of little importance if it was left behind. Perhaps we should find out his reasoning."

"It's three billion Drax, I honestly couldn't care less what he wanted it for."

"I am Groot." I rolled my eyes, ignoring him. This girl was three billion Units, Experiment or not, I want my money.

"I don't see why he couldn't do it himself, lazy asshole." I growled, partly annoyed that we had been sent this far out of our way for a 'Raccoon'

Star-Lord hummed his agreement, turning the corner with us close behind. I snuck a glance at the female, noticing her expression had softened, but otherwise she hadn't changed. Something was tugging at me though, something about her that made me uneasy at the thought of handing her over for the Units. It just, it didn't sit right with me, but like hell I'd say anything.

"I am Groot."

"I don't care." I answered, though I could feel my voice betray me.

"Don't care about what?" Star-Lord questioned. casting a glance back at me and her.

"That she's another Experiment." I tried to keep my voice as uncaring as I could. Part of me did care, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't atleast interested in finding out how long she'd be an Experiment, and what they were doing to her.

"Really?" Quill raised a surprised eyebrow, but otherwise didn't bother to prolong that conversation. Gamora and Drax had both remained fairly quiet the whole way back to the Benatar. Once onboard, I gave Drax the girl, who laid her on a table, while I climbed up ontop of a seat to get a better view of her. Gamora had taken to the cockpit to get the ship out of here.

"Right, so, whose looking after her?" Was the first thing I said. Please don't say me. Dump her with Mantis or Gamora... Please don't say m...

"Rocket, why can't you?"

"Whoa why me? Why can't Mantis or Gamora take care of her?"

"You're both errr... the same?" Quill shrugged. "Besides, you might." He smirked softly, but I knew what he was trying to hint at.

"Shut up Quill." I deadpanned.

"All I'm saying i.." Groot cut him off.

"I am Groot."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"I am Groot?"

"So what she's a girl?"

"I am Groot." I wanted to headbutt the table. Why does Groot seem to think the fact she's a girl is a BAD thing for me? I couldn't care less. "I am Groot."

"What? No!" At moments like these I bet we wish we couldn't understand the walking tree. Drax had long since left the room, and Mantis was nowhere to be found - lately she's been quiet now I think about it.. Meh. "Look, whose gonna be stuck looking after her until she's healthy or we get back to that sleazeball to sell her?"

"Why can't you?"

"Why'd I have to do everything?"

"Why not, keep you from making so many bombs."

"You'll never know when you'll need extra explosives."

"I know we'll never need enough to blow up a moon." Gamora called out from the cockpit.

"Killjoy." I mumbled under my breath. "How long is it till we get back?"

"About the same amount of time it took to get here. Now get to work looking after her." He didn't give me a chance to voice my refusal before he walked out with a smirk, leaving me and Groot alone with the unconscious 'Raccoon' girl. I growled, glaring at the opening Quill had left through.

"You.. Have got to be kidding me..." I groaned, looking at the unconscious female. This is going to get in my way soooo much, but, she is worth three million units, can't complain all THAT much.

"I am Groot."

"I don't know.." I sat down, sighing in annoyance. "I don't even know how to start looking after her. I'm good at fixing technology, not people."

"I am Groot."

"Fine.." I groaned, then hooked my arms under her. According to Groot, putting her somewhere warmer would be a good start - he might have a point, this ship was rather cold at the moment. I'll need to look at the heating system soon, don't know how long my fur can keep up. As Groot opened the door to my room, he helped me lift her into the bed and cover her up before leaving me alone with my thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2: Kara

**So, firstly just forget the previous thing about this only being like 2-3 chapters, it's going to be as long as it takes. This will also in the future go through both Infinity War and Endgame.**

~Rocket's POV~

It was, what, an hour or two since we left that dump, and I was honest to god so bored now. Babysitting someone whose not even conscious is really a waste of my time, and Quill practically forbid me to make any more bombs for a bit. The past twenty minutes I'd spent doing nothing but staring at the ceiling in boredom.

"Why me?" I groaned. "I have to do everything around here." I had to do ALL the repairs for the ship and the weapons, not to mention the Areo-rigs and jetpacks and all the other junk, now I've gotta look after the, whatever she was to us. Prisoner? Nah. Package? I guess so. Three million for this... The more I thought about it, the weirder it got. Why SO much for her? Why get US to do it? Infact, how did he even know she was there? Then again, we could've just gotten the wrong package. Could just drop her off safely on a planet and bail.

What's her name anyway? I took a glance at the tag over her heart on the vest-top thing. Subject 94K44.. Of course, they don't use our actual names, they just gave us numbers, those scumbags. The entire organization that ruined my life back on Halfworld. Apparently they weren't the only group doing this shit to us.

Now my interest was peaked, did she have any permeanent scars.. Like mine, well, it's not like I could just look. You know, morals and shit. Actually, I wonder if I still have any of my old Jumpsuits anywhere. My orange one from way back when we first went after Quill on Xandar, or my Ravager red one. That vest isn't very comfortable, or warm to wear - I know.

I had a quick look through the boxes in my room, finding the orange one, now torn and worn out but still wearable when I heard voices outside, and my curiousity got the better of me, so I left the girl to find the others, minus Groot, gathered around and talking with the guy who hired us. He looks like bad news, not like Ronan or Thanos levels of bad news, but like, 100% a dick bad news.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting me Guardian's."

"So much for the respect." Quill muttered under his breath. "We got something from that dump." The guy raised a curious eyebrow.

"And what is that?"

"We found a Raccoon, one like our buddy Rocket there." He pointed back at me as I climbed up onto the table. I really didn't like the way he was eyeing me up, so I gave him a nice, vicious warning snarl. "Is that what you were after?"

"Yes, that's exactly it, Guardian. Your Units are all ready to be transferred once you arrive and hand her over to my assisstant. I assume her health is in poor condition, so my assisstant will be there to collect her and nurse her back to health."

"Before we do this, what'd you want her for? I ain't handing over a living creature without knowing WHY." I growled.

"You don't need to worry about my reasoning, Rodent." Oh he didn't just.. My lips twitched into a scowl, my eyes narrowing. I was already gripping the handle of my blaster before Mantis had to calm me. He smirked at my frustrated expression, then continued to rile me up with "I hope that you will keep him on a leash when you hand over the female. It's not good to leave them with free roam for too long Star-Lord."

Quill took a glance back at me, before glaring at the guy on the screen. "You know, if you're not going to respect us, we don't have any obligation to hand her over to you. We could probably find someone else willing to take care of her for an even better price." He quickly changed his tone at that.

"My apologies, Star-Lord, I didn't notice my words affected your companion as much as they did. No, from now on I assure you I will be more respectful to you. Contact me whenever you are ready to hand over the individual, should you have more.. pressing matter's to attend too." Before Quill or anyone else could say anything in response, he cut off the transmission.

Gamora was the first one to speak up. "I don't like this."

"Agreed, this individual's need for the female is uncomforting, and his lack of respect and appreciation is unlikeable."

"I am Groot."

"Considering where we found her as well, in a lab just like the one where I was made into this, I don't like it. We shouldn't hand her over. Heck just go to the Nova Corps and let them look after her."

Quill nodded in agreement, "Maybe we should, the Nova Corp's might be able to find out more about her as well. We might be able to find out something about him too." Well, at least he has common sense...

"Oh yeah, Gamora, I think I found my old orange jumpsuit, you think you can change her into it... The outfit she's got on right now really won't do her any favours for getting better, or even keeping warm." She nodded, walking into my room and closing the door behind her.

"Quill, did he ever say why he required this specimen so much?" Peter shrugged in response to Drax's question.

"He never even said what we were actually searching for until just now. I have no idea what makes her worth three million Units."

"She's an experiment - probably from High Evolutionary or some other messed up group. That's probably reason enough, nevermind the fact Halfworld's kinda... Well... There's not alot of us left that I know about. Probably paying up alot to have one of us in some kind of zoo."

"You mean like the Collector?" I nodded. "We'll go to Xandar and speak with the Nova Corps first, then we'll figure out what to do from there." We then dismissed ourselves back to our own devices as Gamora left my room just as I entered. The vest top she was previously wearing was left lying on the floor, and she was now wearing my old jumpsuit that basically was too big for her right now.

The vest was blank, a plain steel-like grey, lacking any sort of identifing factor. Nothing but her subject tag. 94K44.. I took a second glance at her, noticing her nose and ears twitching softly, as if she was starting to come around. When she finally opened her eyes, she closed them, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light of my room. She looked around slowly, then her eyes landed on me and she nearly jumped straight out of the bed.

"Whoa, calm down there girly, I ain't gon' hurt ya. See?" I grabbed my weapon and discarded it a short distance. "Name's Rocket."

"W-wh-what? W-w-where a-am I? T-t-this do-doesn't l-look l-l-like my cage o-or the l-lab." I winced at that, frowning. She really been there that long she's actually worried that she's free? It was then she noticed where she was currently situated. "I-i-is t-t-this t-the bree-breeding p-program a-again?"

"Whoa whoa, there, this isn't anything of the sort girl.. You're in a ship called the Benatar, you ain't in the lab anymore. This ain't a breeding program or anything." Wait, did they actually do breeding programs? Thats more fricken fricked than anything. My lab didn't do shit like that. "You're in my room, nothing more. Nothing's happened you need to be concerned about."

"W-w-why a-am I h-here a-and not i-in t-the lab?" Jeez girl can't you be relieved to be free?

"The lab's been abandoned, you were forgotten during it. My friends and I came here and rescued you following some information we got from a client." A client I REALLY DON'T trust. "You're going to be staying with us until we find a safe place for you to live." I genuinely wondered if there were more of us experiments scattered around - where there any others that escaped from the Halfworld facility other than me and Lylla, wherever she is now.

"O-oh, d-did y-you find a-anyone else?"

"Nope, just you." She sighed, looking down at her paws. With the vest gone, I could now see some of her previously hidden scars. On both her arms were multiple tiny cuts into the fur, and there was a small metal object on her right shoulder, dug into the fur and skin, as well as another much smaller metal piece going through her the palm of her right paw. I also noticed another metal beam that was pressed into the skin on her right thigh - heck if I'm honest she kinda looked like she was a cyborg or something. What the hell where they doing to them?

"So anyway, what's ya name, or do ya just want me calling you girlie all the time?"

"I-i-i-its... S-Subject 94K44."

"No, your NAME. I ain't calling you by that shit." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I-I-I don-don't k-know wh-what you mean.. I-I'm Subject 94K44.." Her ears flattened against her head defeatedly.

"No, thats not your name, thats the tag. Like this, I was Subject 89P13, but my name that everyone calls me is Rocket. Where are you from anyway?"

"I-I d-don't know... W-When I first w-woke up... T-they said someth-something about me coming from Terra?" 'Really?' My ears perked up in surprise. She was from Terra? "T-thats w-when I n-noticed all t-these... changes." She gestured at herself. So, they MADE her like that? "I w-wasn't b-born w-with a 'name' The closest I have is what the tag on my cell first said before it changed to Subject 94K44... Kara."

'Kara?' Kinda cute, little odd I guess but beside the point. She was born on Terra? What the fuck was she doing THIS far away? Did they seriously go all the way there for a 'raccoon?' Or whatever they were called.

"Really, you were from Terra?" She nodded somewhat unsurely. "Wonder why they'd go that far for you." I leaned against the door of my bedroom, a slight dampening thought entering my mind. 'So, she's alot more like me than she realizes.' Some shit we had found along our travels vaguely suggested I might've come from Terra, but honestly even I didn't know the full truth anymore.

"Wh-what's goi-going to h-happen to me?"

"Nothing, my friends and I are going to be taking care of you until we can find a safe place for you to stay. Speaking of which, if you can, come say hi." I walked over to her after noting how much she struggled to even try and stand up, and it was a good thing too, because I barely managed to catch her when she collapsed after a second of standing. "I got ya. C'mon." I walked her over to the door, pushing it open with some difficulty.

"The cute puppy has woken." I rolled my eyes at Mantis.

"Mantis, this is, Kara.. Kara, Mantis." Just then Drax and Gamora both turned into the room.

"So, she's up."

"The other female has finally awoken."

I winced, flattening my ears at how loud Drax was, normally I'd be used to it but seriously? "Drax, Gamora, this is Kara." She waved a meek hello at them, eyeing Drax up fearfully. Finally Quill appeared at the steps.

"Hey."

"H-hi."

"Kara, Quill. Quill, Kara." Ok, well, that was easy. Maybe looking after her won't be as bad if she's already been introduced to the rest, hopefully they'll wanna take over.

"Oh yeah, I spoke to Nova Prime just now, they said that whenever we can, stop by on Xandar and we can work it out there. Xandar's still a LONG way out though."

"We need to make a stop anyway for resupplies. Food and fuel's low right now."

"We probably should've stocked up before we left for this job." Quill muttered.

"Ya think?"


	3. Chapter 3: Week One

~Star Lord's POV~

It's been a few days now since Kara woke up, and, like, Rocket's locked himself away again, and all I've heard out of him for the past hour are some pretty ingenious and creative insults. Why's he done it, probably to make a point and get my attention, yes it definitely did. The point he was trying to make, we have no clue. I know he was complaining about having to look after the newbie, Kara? Was that her name? He seemed to actually be getting along with her though the past few days.

"What is that infernal racket?" Drax groaned, glaring at Rocket's room.

"Ohh it's just Rocket being miserable. I'll go talk to him in a minute." Truth be told I kinda didn't. Don't get me wrong, I do care about our resident trash panda, but he has been a bit of a dickhead lately, before we picked up Kara. I did ask Mantis to read him and find out what his problem was, but he wasn't having any of it. Groot was being an average teenager with an attitude, probably not helping Rocket's anger.

I think the break when we landed and he went to the club and got drunk off his furry little ass did help. I guess it can get a bit much, stuck on this ship with Gamora and Drax for him, especially considering he seems to drive them pair crazy the most.

"Fucking useless piece of trash! Fucking no good for nothing hunk of scrap metal!" Well, he sounds angry.. I jumped slightly at the sound of a loud bang behind his door, him no doubting throwing whatever he was working with. Drax sent me an unsure look, before leaving me to sort it out.

Gamora was looking after Kara since Rocket locked her out in his sudden anger fit. I don't know what set him off, or who, but his refusing to speak to any of us now.

Walking over to the door, and after a second of hesitating, knocked on it, I heard him growl. "What?"

"You ok in there buddy?"

"Yes, now go away... I'm trying to fix this stupid frickin jetpack!" I felt my heart jump when another loud bang echoed from inside, the door shaking slightly as something hit it from inside.

"Trying to fix it? Sounds more like you're trying to break it Rocket."

"I am Groot."

"What? Oh I don't know why his so pissed."

"I am Groot."

"Really, you think his pissed because we drank his alcoho-actually thats not a bad assumption." I swear, if thats all his pissed about, I don't know what I'm going to do actually.

"I am Groot."

"Be my guest." I stepped aside to let Groot next to the door.

"I am Groot!"

"What?"

"I am Groot?"

There were a few seconds of silence from Rocket before he hurled something else. "You drank the last of my alcohol!"

"Oh shit." I groaned, now his really gonna be mad.

"I am Groot."

"Damn right you're gonna buy me more!"

"Rocket if you're not mad about the alcohol what are you mad about?"

"Quill! Did you drink it?" He was definitely NOT happy.

"What? No! I knew it was yours, why would I do that?" Hopefully he believed that cause I actually did drink most of it with Drax and Gamora drinking what I left. "We'll buy you some to replace it. Now, what's really wrong?"

"It doesn't matter!" His voice broke off a bit during that last word, almost as if he wasn't sure about whether it actually didn't matter.

"I am Groot."

"No!"

'Whose Lylla?'

"I am Groot."

"Shut up! Just fuck off! NOW!" Ohhh k, his really, yeap maybe we should go.

"I am Groot." I tapped the tree on his shoulder, giving him a pleading look while pointing away from the door. I know Rocket wouldn't hurt Groot, but I didn't want to take the risk of pissing him off to the point we find ourselves in his crosshairs. Did it once ages ago in Knowhere, did it two weeks before we landed and got the mission, did it two days before we landed at the station... Really didn't want to do it again, especially in a ship as small as the Benatar, and knowing my luck this time will be the time he ends up shooting at us.

Groot sighed, reluctantly agreeing to leave the Raccoon alone to cool off. "I am Groot."

"Really, you think Kara has something to do with it?" He nodded, a sad expression on his face.

"I am Groot."

"Oh.. I mean.. Do you think she could actually be able to talk to him? Without getting blasted." The Floral Collosus shrugged with a half nod, before walking off. I took one last glance at Rockets room, and heard nothing. No more cursing, raging or growling, just silence. I don't really know who 'Lylla' was but it sounded like she meant something to Rocket and Kara was somehow reminding him of her. I guess it didn't help that she was found in a lab like the one he said created him.

Walking away, I went to find Gamora and the new girl, hoping that maybe she could help calm Rocket down.. The longer his mad and doesn't have alcohol, the worst he can get.

'We really need to land soon.' I sighed, casting a quick glance at the map to find the nearest civilised planet we could get supplies from was still a fair distance away. Thank god I had got some fuel when I did because we had just enough to reach that planet.

"Hey Mantis.." I greeted as I walked past her, to which she ignored me and continued to stare at some blinking yellow light. I chuckled softly before continuing to Gamora's quaters. Once outside, I rapped my knuckles against the door.

"Come in." She called out after a second. I pushed it open and stepped inside, shrugging in response to her unasked question. "Soo... His still angry?"

"Yeah, I don't know what's up with him to be honest.. Though I'm pretty sure his alot more pissed now he knows we drank his drinks.. Groot told him, not me." I threw my hands up in defence. We had planned not to tell Rocket and just replace it in secret. He doesn't use it often enough to notice his stock slowly going down. Well he does, but I know which bottles he wont notice.

"Great." She sighed sarcastically. "This is going to be a loooong trip."

"Maybe he'll cool off, we gotta make a pit stop next planet anyway for fuel and supplies, we didn't exactly fully stock ourselves last time. We get him some alcohol and he'll be fine, long as we don't drink it. Right now we just better leave him alone, I'm pretty sure his tearing apart that busted jetpack."

"Ma-maybe I c-can talk to him?" We both turned to face Kara, questioning expressions plastered on our faces. Groot did think she might have a better chance then the rest of us to not get killed or in the very least, shot at by him.

"Maybe you should let him cool down a bit first, his really not in a talking mood right now." She nodded in understanding, looking to the ground. I sighed, rubbing the back of my head before dismissing myself and heading towards my pilot seat.

~No POV~

His room was a mess, equipment, weapons and spare parts scattered across. The small furry creature stood at the centre of the mess, glaring at the ground and breathing heavily, paws clenched into fists and his ears twitching in anger. His fur was ruffled, stands pulled out and littering the floor from his own attempts at coping with the stress he was currently feeling.

If anything, he blamed himself for the terrible condition of the ship and the risk they might not reach a planet in time. He had started slacking a bit on keeping the ship in condition, resorting to drink to combat the unfair pressure he had on him, which only ended up worsening the situation. Quill was adamant they would reach the planet in time to restock and do some proper maintence but he didn't realise how quickly the fuel was actually draining. They'd need a miracle to get there in one piece.

All the stress of managing all the other equipment was building up on him. At first, everything was easy to manage, it just slowly became too much to cope with after the Ego situation. All the air-rigs, new weapons and everything he had created all required him to keep them in condition. One 'Raccoon' managing a ship and atleast twenty different weapons with limitied supplies is kinda unfair, but hey, atleast their a Jetpack down now, and maybe about five of his spare guns.

One of his spare jumpsuits didn't fair any better, completely ripped and shredded in his frustration and a flurry of aggressive bites and slashes. He was thankful the others did look after their own equipment, but he still was left with the bulk of the work and it really took its toll. He'd spent nights awake working, not getting any sleep and then getting drunk off his fur covered butt to not have to work anymore.

If all that wasn't enough, the mechanics in his back, they were starting to really become an annoyance, hurting him. He didn't trust any of the others to help, so he had to cope with thay himself: Drax wouldn't have a clue and would only make it worse, Star-Lord, probably shouldn't be trusted with that kinda stuff, Gamora would probably be the safest bet but still, she wouldn't know what to do even if he explained it, Mantis was really only useful for helping ease the pain to a tolerable level so he could do it, how nobody has a frickin clue.

The Raccoon hissed, anger fading and making way for the pain of his implants to once again take over, uncomfortably rubbing against the fabric of his jumpsuit. This was the most common cause, just his bare, furless skin that surrounded the metal making contact with the rather rough material of his jumpsuits usually caused some pain and irritation, more often than the actual implants themselves. It took a few minutes but eventually it faded out.

"Why'd they have to talk about her?" He asked himself, cursing under his breath at the fact he had been reminded of something he wanted to forget. Silence envelopped him, his emotions slowly carming back into his usual hard ass atittude; he relaxed after a few seconds, taking calmer breaths before looking around the mess he had created.

One thing was not damaged, one thing that he still clutched in his left paw. A wrist-computer, sporting Lylla's name carved into the metal above the screen. After Lylla vanished, this was all he had left of her, and he had kept it with him the entire way through. Through the Prison, through Bounty Hunting, through Ronan, Ego.. He had kept it safe, doing everything he could to not lose or break it.

He stepped over the many parts, clutching the wrist computer in his paw as he made his way over to his bed. Even after all these years, he still remembered one of the last things he heard her say. "I never thought I'd see the sky."

They were still on the run then, and all it took was Rocket to turn his eyes away from Lylla to lose track of her. He had searched for ages, with Groot's help and with the help of the odd mercenary and Bounty Hunter to find her, but nothing ever yielded results.

Kara reminded him of her, much more than he cared to admit. Maybe she didn't share Lylla's sentiment, or more friendly personality and instead sported one akin to his own hard headed, cold personality after gaining her confidence, but the female was just a reminder that he wasn't alone, he wasn't the last.

The past few days alone he had grown close to her, not friends or anything above, but he felt calmer around her, and she felt safer around him. The first three days in particular, she really started to show off her abilities, prove her worth and develop her confidence.

~Rocket's POV, Kara's first day~

_"Awhh come on Kara.. It'll be fun." It was only a few hours after I had introduced her, and I was already trying to convince her to prank Quill with me. It was a harmless idea that would be a great laugh, but she seemed so quiet and reluctant. _

_"B-b-but... I-I-I d-don't t-think I should.. I-It's not nice." She shuffled on her feet nervously. I sighed, folding my arms across my chest and leaning against the door of my room. Actually, thats when it kinda hit me she didn't have a room of her own. Mantis kinda took up the last spare one in the ship, and it'd take ages - and cost alot of Units - to get her a room built into the Benatar._

_Quill's 'brilliant' solution was... "Why don't she sleep in your room with you?" To which I'm pretty sure freaked Kara out to the point she didn't want to even look up from the floor for a solid twenty minutes. Hence this prank as payback. _

_"C'mon Kara. It's gonna be fine. His a humie, he can handle it." She wasn't really having any of it. _

_"N-No.. I-I d-don't want to be s-sent back." _

_"We ain't sending you back anyway. Like Quill said, we're going to the Nova Corps, they can help us." _

_"B-But.. W-What a-about that g-guy.. I-I he-heard you mention someone w-was paying a-alot of 'Units' for me.. I-I thought y-you w-were gonna se-sell me." She kept her head down, ears flattened against her head. _

_"What? No, no way. We ain't selling you to that A-class creep, none of us trust him, especially me, and seeing as how I'm the Captain despite Quill's countless protests, I decided we're taking you to the Nova."_

_~Day 2~_

_"Nice one Kara. You're pretty good at this hacking buisness." That was probably an understatement, she was incredible. She has some insane learning capablities, she went from not even knowing what a computer is or what a keyboard does to hacking into the ship after it had locked us all out, and this ship has some pretty serious security hardware. I couldn't do it, I tried._

_I can do alot of technical miracles, but straight up plain and simple hacking is not one. She picked it up in less than three minutes, and had us all back into the ship after it's lockdown - that she inadvertantly and unknowningly caused. I noticed her face light up with my approval, and it seemed she was quickly building up her confidence and earning her place as a potential Guardian.. _

_Yes, she was lumbered in my room at the time and needless to say was it uncomfortable. I slept on the floor, with the blanket while she just hugged the pillow. Sooner we get this ship done out with her own little area the better, that is, if she stays with us which she most likely will. I could use another helping hand with all the equipment. _

_Speaking of which she wasn't too bad at looking after the smaller guns and weapons, though she wasn't comfortable managing the larger rifles that were almost double her size and she couldn't even lift. We really need some food. _

_"Oh hey, I'm back in!" Quill shouted from the cockpit. "Nice work guys!" _

_"All thanks to Kara." _

_"I j-just want to be u-useful to you guys." _

_~Day 3~_

_I patted the newest addition to the Guardians - as far as I know atleast, Quill's asking if she wants to stay around for a bit longer. She sent me a smile, beaming in self-pride at the fact she had actually fixed a pretty badly busted up gun. I busted it up, screwed up all the insides and everything just to test her and help her learn these weapons. I made sure not to completely trash it because this baby was a useful weapon. _

_She looked so pleased with herself. "Good job, you did well for a first time." Just like yesterday with the hacking, she has a super quick learning ability. She still struggled alot with this, but she managed to get it done twice as quick as Quill could. She couldn't lift the damn thing though, so I had to do all the heavy lifting work. _

_Honestly she really was earning a place here, as far as I was concerned. Still hadn't tested her with weapons or combat, but the others reckoned we should give her atleast a week before she starts doing anything. Heck she was recovering so quickly I could probably test her tomorrow. _

_"I think you'll fit in well with us here." _

_She beamed happily, looking like a little kid whose just do something really impressive and got praised by their parents. "You th-think?" I nodded, trying to contain my actual excitement at having a Guardian I could relate to and who could help manage everything._

_"Yeah, you've earned your place here anyway."_

_"W-will the o-others b-be ok with it?" _

_I dismissed her with a wave of my hand. "They'll learn to deal with it, besides I think they're happy with you joining. I mean, look at it like this, you'll be a part of our family, and you'll have a home." She only beamed with even more happiness, latching onto me in a tight hug. _

_"Thank you... So much." I just kinda sat there, reluctant to return the hug but eventually I caved. _

_"You're welcome." _


End file.
